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Courting Lady Luck

Here's where it all began. Back when Indian gaming just meant a bad baseball bet, Nevada was the place to do what your parents told you not to. And as with anything else, experience makes a world of difference. Though you can drop your chips almost anywhere these days, you can be sure nobody does gambling with more class or style than Vegas.

If you're a first timer, then take baby steps. Throw a few quarters in a slot, lay a chip on the roulette wheel, but don't linger with the games of chance too long. If you really want a taste of Vegas, you've got to lock on to the table action. And yes, captain, as long as you're playing, the drinks really are free.

Intimidated? Start slow during the daylight hours. Find an empty table with a low limit -- five dollars a blackjack hand is about as good as you'll do at a larger joint -- and ask the dealer for advice. He'll make sure you're hitting smart and not doing anything to rain on other players. Pick up a little lingo and some smooth hand motions and you'll be better off than most of the crumbs that find their way to the tables.

If the limits at the large joints seem too high, scattered in between the Strip's titans are a number of gambling halls that can get down to two or three bucks a hand. Though these tables get crowded, the players and dealers tend to be a lot more tolerant of a novice card shark.

A word to the wise: beware of special bets at blackjack or poker tables. You'll recognize them by a special betting circle on the table promising you great odds if the dealer throws you two black queens or some variation. Anything with odds that good tends to be a good way for a sucker to lose a few extra bucks. Vegas wasn't built by doubling your money.

If you've got some silver hanging around, the suave thing to do is bet the buck for your dealer (place it just above the betting circle, they'll know what you're up to). You win; you've doubled their tip. You lose; they don't get the buck but they have a newfound respect for you. It might not change your luck, but it can't hurt it, right?

Bottom line on courting lady luck: know how much you've got to lose, resolve that it's already gone, and then bet as smart as you know how. When it's lost, you're gone. End of story.